Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 31
Farmers’ unions today warned the Modi government of “a nationwide protest if agriculture and dairy sectors were not kept out of negotiations” of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
The unions asked the government to not succumb to pressure from the 16 negotiating countries such as China, New Zealand and Australia as the mega-trade agreement will put the future of “15 crore farmers’ family at stake”. It threatens farm livelihoods, autonomy over seeds and the country’s self-sufficient dairy sector, they claimed.
“They are eager to close the deal that only stands to benefit agribusinesses in these countries. The RCEP will increase the benefits of trading partners because of India’s massive market, while India will lose revenue of up to Rs 60,000 crore if the deal is fully implemented,” said Yudhvir Singh of the Bhartiya Kisan Union.
Farm leaders claimed that the RCEP would force India to remove tariffs on 92 per cent of traded commodities. “India has already lost Rs26,000 crore of revenue in 2018-2019 by allowing cheap imports from the ASEAN bloc. India is self sufficient in the dairy sector, but, through RCEP, foreign players like Fonterra, Danone, want to dump their surplus into our country,” they said.
“New Zealand is spreading half truth when they claim that only an insignificant 5 per cent of its dairy exports are destined for India. But this 5 per cent amounts to one-third of our entire market! We will lose that much to one country alone, and imagine the danger if we add up others,” said Sellamuttu of the Tamila Vyavasaigal Sangam of Tamil Nadu.
Beside dairy, the RCEP will also give more concessions to foreign players in areas such as seeds and patents. A major concern about the agreement is the demand from member countries, especially Japan and South Korea, for ‘TRIPS-plus’ intellectual property protection for seeds, medicines and agrochemicals. “This will be disastrous for Indian farmers because the country is under pressure to accede to the 1991 International Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties Convention and comply with its standards,” they said.
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/3350iLS
via Today’s News Headlines
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